Melam | Sounds of Diaspora

Melam is a cultural collective that celebrates global artists and creators with local roots. Founded by Barcelona-based creatives Sejal Parekh, a British-Indian interdisciplinary artist, and Davina Rajoopillai, a British-Sri Lankan cultural curator and creative producer.

Our third gathering is an intimate listening room, Sounds of Diaspora.

Relax and hear from artists Ahadadream and Opu Ku from Jokkoo Collective, who will share the tracks and influences that shaped and inspired them. Between each track, we converse: what influenced these sounds? How do migration, diaspora, and music travel through bodies and borders?

Ahadadream weaves Pakistani tabla percussion into UK grime bassline structures, drawing from his heritage and sounds across the globe. A DJ and producer, he's also the founder of Dialled In, a South Asian creative platform from London. Opu Ku, member of Jokkoo Collective, explores dub histories, noise, and ancestral African musics, building Barcelona's Afro-diaspora community since 2017.

With delicious bites from Mog Barcelona, a Goan pan-Asian restaurant founded by chef Rachel, who gives a special twist to her heritage flavours with local ingredients. Food is included with entry.

Ahadadream is a London-based DJ and producer born in Pakistan. His music weaves Pakistani tabla percussion into UK grime bassline structures sounds from home transformed into club energy. With unflagging energy and passion, he manages various facets of his creative self, drawing influence from sounds across the UK, his homeland of Pakistan, the African diaspora and beyond.

In 2021, he launched Dialled In, a South Asian creative movement that has hosted festivals, classical concerts, a V&A late, the inaugural Boiler Room Pakistan, and an artist residency in Nepal. They recently also launched Dialled In Records. In 2017, he founded More Time Records with Sam Interface, a label that has released artists from Ghana, Trinidad, South Africa, Taiwan and the UAE, with a unique sound combining global influences with a distinctive UK edge.

He has performed at Glastonbury, Sonar, Printworks, Fabric, Panorama Bar, Coachella and more. BBC named him Future Star of 2024.

Opo plays with music, sounds, images, DIY technology with a focus on improvisation, experimentation and collaboration. Opo is a member of Jokkoo Collective and is currently studying dub histories, noise and electronics. opo also is strongly influenced by scifi, ancestral afro musics, jazz, performance art and food. Opo hopes to subvert hierarchies and binaries, whilst learning life skills, most of all love(in) communication.

Mog Barcelona (meaning "love" in Konkani) is a Goan pan-Asian restaurant founded by siblings Raul and Rachel, originally from Goa, India. Chef Rachel gives a special twist to her heritage flavours, combining Goan and Southeast Asian cuisine with fresh local Barcelona ingredients. Conscious cooking, full of flavour, accompanied by a selection of natural wines.